OLD GREENWICH, CONNECTICUTAugust 1955

Insufficient Data

Summary

In August 1955, a man in Old Greenwich, Connecticut shot what he believed to be a color photograph of a flying saucer. The object appeared as a small, bright blue-white point of light moving across the sky in a horizontal path from south-southwest to north-northeast. The photographer used a Kodak Pony camera with fast film to capture the image, describing the object later as roughly 150 feet in diameter and disc-shaped, made of light metal.

The Air Force launched a thorough investigation. Photo specialists from ATIC (Air Technical Intelligence Center) and WADC (Wright Air Development Center) subjected the color transparency to microscopic, macroscopic, and other examinations. Both teams independently concluded that the object was not a spacecraft or meteor, but rather a flaw in the film emulsion, probably caused by a chemical reaction during the color processing. The trail behind it resulted from what photographers call "bromide drag," a processing artifact.

The official analysis raised several red flags about the observer's account. The transparency showed the tiny object almost perfectly centered in the frame, which investigators found remarkably difficult to explain if the observer had truly spotted such a small, fast-moving object in a dark sky and framed it so precisely. The observer's written statement also contained inconsistencies. He described the object as "the size of a head of a pin" while simultaneously claiming it was 150 feet in diameter and disc-shaped with visible structural details. Furthermore, the fast shutter speed of the camera would have made recording any visible trail extremely improbable at the claimed distance.

In a separate inquiry, an astronomer contacted the observer for more details but was unable to reach him at the address provided. These factors led the Air Force to conclude the case was a deliberate hoax, with the observer possibly finding the film defect first and then fabricating a UFO report to match it.

The full case file, comprising 119 pages held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

OLD GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT

Date of incident

August 1955

State / country

CT / US

Page count

119 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 23

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 119

View transcribed text

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| Armes RRO TRG LL PROJERT 10079 RECORD GARD. he ae
1. DATE : | ~ | 2.~-LOCATION CUE | 12. CONCLUSIONS «= S9k
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| 30 (7) AUGUST 1955 | OLD GREENWICH, CONMECTICUT |G prabesly Belleen” 5k
| 3 DATETIME GRCUP- "~*~ | 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION ~ ~~ a= hy a a
; Loco 0930 local | XA Ground- Visual : DO Ground-Radar-~ i B Probably Airereft Arg ; A | 4
: GMAT (i) i a Air Visuol CQ Air-intercept Radar 2 Possibly Aircroft : fa: 3
{8 PHOTGS SR EAR 1h | 18. SOURCE [0 Was Astronomical
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7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION * 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE jE Othee_hOBX ~~ =. = “VF
x " 1 ¥ Black & { ¢ : AE ; : c hhh Data for Evaivati
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5 min. 1 | SSW to NIE |B ms PT icin Eiji
1 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Observer submitted a 11. COMMENTS Examination of the: film bys
i colored film transparency of what is purported | separate photo specialists (ATIC & WADC)
to be a "flying saucer." In his report he | & micro & macroscopic reviews of colored)!
: tates he observed the object, raz in the house| & black & white prints of various densis’ |
i or a camera (pony 35 MM) and snapped the object ties disclosed the the obj, was caused ©
iz flight, OJbserver states hs would imagine thg a flaw (either accidental or induced) 1
Sject as "150% in diameter, constructed of the film, The written rsport comtains ..
ight metal and disc shaped.” The object, the | mar. of inconsistencies, ex: desc. size a.
ize. of a pin head was almost perfectly centered head of pin, but gave details of its con
n the film and resembled a blue-white elliptical s¥ruction. Cbj reptd sireaking sky from |
| bject with a trail, sir : Sd - NE yet observed for 15 min. Cbj ale}
A pin aay ‘ ig ; ‘most perfectly centersd in film, a-remari-
he i, BYRD he: able feat to find - suca a small obj a=. tf:
EN : ci igainst a black-sky in viewfinder & center!
] ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 57) = eens Lan FZ PE) A rSS eli : : & ih ats
1 He ; : i : |

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28963358